Apparatus for compressively shrinking textile fabrics at high speed

Abstract

This disclosure teaches an apparatus for longitudinally compressively shrinking a textile fabric web by continuously feeding the web between a thick elastomeric belt and a heated polished cylinder having a low frictional resistance. The apparatus of this invention is characterized by selectively varying tension of the belt as well as selectively manually varying contact pressure between the belt and the polished cylinder. According to this invention skipping at high speeds is avoided and there is control of pressure of the belt on the cylinder over a greater arc than by prior art apparatus.

We claim: 
     
       1. In an apparatus for longitudinally compressively shrinking a light weight textile fabric web at high speed and having a heated cylinder, rotatable about its cylinder axis and having a hard surface with low frictional resistance, a plurality of rollers each of which is mounted for rotation about an axis parallel to the cylinder axis, an endless rubber elastic belt trained over said rollers, one of said rollers being a nip roller and another of said rollers being a take-up roller located opposite the nip roller on the other side of the cylinder, said belt being wrapped in turn around the nip roller then engaging an arc of the cylinder and then around the take-up roller, said nip roller being movable substantially only radially relative to the cylinder to variably compress the belt against the cylinder, the improvement comprising: link means swingably mounting said take-up roller for movement along an arcuate path toward and from said cylinder, said arcuate path being concave toward said nip roller and configured such that movement of said take-up roller therealong will vary the length of the arc of contact between said belt and cylinder without substantially changing the tension in said belt; and   selectively operable means for swinging said link means to move said take-up roller along said arcuate path.   
     
     
       2. In an apparatus for longitudinally compressively shrinking a light weight textile fabric web at high speed and having a heated cylinder, rotatable about its cylinder axis and having a hard surface with low frictional resistance, a plurality of rollers each of which is mounted for rotation about an axis parallel to the cylinder axis, an endless rubber elastic belt trained over said rollers, one of said rollers being a nip roller and another of said rollers being a take-up roller located opposite the nip roller on the other side of the cylinder, said belt being wrapped in turn around the nip roller then engaging an arc of the cylinder and then around the take-up roller, said nip roller being movable radially relative to the cylinder to form a variable nip between the belt and the cylinder, the improvement comprising: link means swingably mounting said take-up roller for movement along an arcuate path toward and from said cylinder, said arcuate path being such that movement of said take-up roller therealong will vary the length of the arc of contact between said belt and cylinder without substantially changing the tension in said belt;   selectively operable means for swinging said link means to move said take-up roller along said arcuate path; and   further selectively operable means for adjusting the position of said take-up roller along said link means to thereby change the radius of said arcuate path and the tension in said belt.   
     
     
       3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said plurality of rollers includes at least a third roller spaced from said cylinder to direct said belt along a return path from said take-up roller to said nip roller, said link means being pivotally mounted on an axis closely adjacent a straight line joining the axis of said nip roller and said third roller and between said rollers.